Thursday, 4 October 2012

Hunted: Spies Like Us

Hunted from the BBC and HBO is set in the world of private security contractors - spies for hire. All the complexities of modern espionage, and not even the comfort of knowing who you’re working for.

“Never ask who the client is. Speculation leads to assumption. Mistakes can get you killed.”

Mercenary PCs tend to be the straightforward go-in-and-shoot type. So do spy PCs, really - espionage RPGs tend more to Bond than Smiley. But there’s plenty of room for shifting allegiances, moral ambiguity and doubt in games, if the players and GM are so inclined. See Cold City for an example of multiple agencies working together... badly.

(I was there for the screening this interview preceded, and asked series creator Frank Spotnitz “is it a nice change having a hero who can solve problems by hitting people?” He laughed and said “Absolutely! Of course, the trick is keeping her hitting people interesting.” I assured him that he was off to a good start.)